Heart-racing mountain lion encounter caught on camera

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A close encounter :E Excited:




A nerve-rattling encounter with a mountain lion started with a fleeting glimpse of the big cat's tail on a High Sierra trail in California's wilderness.

Brian McKinney didn't believe it was a puma that his hiking partner Sam Vonderheide had seen, so he got out his phone and hit record as they followed the lithe creature.

The hikers slowly rounded a turn to see it peering down on them from a rocky perch just feet away.

Its ears were perked up, head cocked and eyes locked on them.

"What are you supposed to do?" one hiker whispered. The other answered: "I don't know. I don't think you're supposed to run."

McKinney said his heart races now seeing the video.

"(I was) not only shocked, but alarmed that she had the advantage above me, which is what they do when they hunt," he said.

Rangers at Sequoia National Park on Monday posted link to the two-minute video captured July 23.

The clip ends with the hikers slowly backing away. But they said the encounter didn't end there.





'She just looked at us like she was entertained'

They waited for the cat to leave and tried rousing it from the trail, so they could continue on to the place they wanted to set up camp. The lion didn't budge.

"She just looked at us like she was entertained," he said. "So we gave up."

The two hikers then turned back and set up camp for a restless night's sleep in another area, their first of a nearly two-week-long hike up Mount Whitney, armed with only an ice ax and a bear whistle.

The next day, they had to cross the path where they had the encounter.

'Men were so shaken they had made goodbye videos for their loved ones'

The men were so shaken they had made goodbye videos for their loved ones. Vonderheide was armed with the ice ax, but the only traces they found of the mountain lion were the paw marks it left behind.

Wildlife biologist Daniel Gammons said the men did the right thing by staying calm. Biologists say you should make yourself appear big by waving your arms overhead and scare off the animal, as the men did.

"The big thing these visitors did right was that they didn't panic and run," Gammons said. "Probably the most important message to get out to visitors is not to act like prey if they encounter a mountain lion."

While the encounter was terrifying, McKinney said he and Vonderheide had discussed spotting a puma.

"When we started the trip, we sort of jokingly said, 'Wouldn't it be great if we saw the trifecta of a rattlesnake, a bear and a mountain lion?' " he said.

"And sure enough, we got our wish."



Source: http://www.traveller24.com/Explore/...tain-lion-encounter-caught-on-camera-20170808
 
Saw that yesterday, talk about dumb! See the lion turn the corner then follow!!!! Crazy
 
There's no way I'd be in mountain lion and bear country and not have at least a pistol, and I'd much prefer an 870 loaded with slugs.
 
@reedy0312 some folks shouldn't be in the woods by themselves!
 
Wow
 
These people could be put on that Darwin Award thread that was going last year sometime!
 
Cool footage of the mt lion.

Another fine example of why some people have no business being in the wild. I like how the one guy is saying to blow the whistle if it comes closer.... I'm ssuuuuurrrreee that will help.
 
We use to live a mile up the mountain from Boulder, CO. One Sunday we sat on the porch having a martini and watching deer in the yard. I went in to freshen our drinks when my wife came in shortly after. Her eyes were intensely huge! All she could say was "big cat"! She nodded when I said mountain lion? Out I went to see. I followed the cat several yards behind down the drive with my shed near. He would look at the deer, then look at me repeatedly. I moved closer to the shed door. Finally he moved on out of sight.
My wife said he walked by her within 4' watching the deer but never indicating he even noticed her. She gets all nervous even today talking about it.
 
A close encounter :E Excited:




A nerve-rattling encounter with a mountain lion started with a fleeting glimpse of the big cat's tail on a High Sierra trail in California's wilderness.

Brian McKinney didn't believe it was a puma that his hiking partner Sam Vonderheide had seen, so he got out his phone and hit record as they followed the lithe creature.

The hikers slowly rounded a turn to see it peering down on them from a rocky perch just feet away.

Its ears were perked up, head cocked and eyes locked on them.

"What are you supposed to do?" one hiker whispered. The other answered: "I don't know. I don't think you're supposed to run."

McKinney said his heart races now seeing the video.

"(I was) not only shocked, but alarmed that she had the advantage above me, which is what they do when they hunt," he said.

Rangers at Sequoia National Park on Monday posted link to the two-minute video captured July 23.

The clip ends with the hikers slowly backing away. But they said the encounter didn't end there.





'She just looked at us like she was entertained'

They waited for the cat to leave and tried rousing it from the trail, so they could continue on to the place they wanted to set up camp. The lion didn't budge.

"She just looked at us like she was entertained," he said. "So we gave up."

The two hikers then turned back and set up camp for a restless night's sleep in another area, their first of a nearly two-week-long hike up Mount Whitney, armed with only an ice ax and a bear whistle.

The next day, they had to cross the path where they had the encounter.

'Men were so shaken they had made goodbye videos for their loved ones'

The men were so shaken they had made goodbye videos for their loved ones. Vonderheide was armed with the ice ax, but the only traces they found of the mountain lion were the paw marks it left behind.

Wildlife biologist Daniel Gammons said the men did the right thing by staying calm. Biologists say you should make yourself appear big by waving your arms overhead and scare off the animal, as the men did.

"The big thing these visitors did right was that they didn't panic and run," Gammons said. "Probably the most important message to get out to visitors is not to act like prey if they encounter a mountain lion."

While the encounter was terrifying, McKinney said he and Vonderheide had discussed spotting a puma.

"When we started the trip, we sort of jokingly said, 'Wouldn't it be great if we saw the trifecta of a rattlesnake, a bear and a mountain lion?' " he said.

"And sure enough, we got our wish."



Source: http://www.traveller24.com/Explore/...tain-lion-encounter-caught-on-camera-20170808

Do you think the mountain lion would have attacked if you ran?
 
Do you think the mountain lion would have attacked if you ran?
You just never know with mountain lion. Running is the most likely thing that will trigger a cats predator instincts. Obviously ;)
The thing about mountain lion is, it's easy to get careless with them. Overwhelmingly, they aren't much danger to people as long as they aren't impaired in some way or conditions such as drought have them desperate for food. A healthy cat will usually not pose much danger to people.
BUT, in places where they are not hunted they lose much of their fear and respect for humans.
I have friends who run hounds after mountain lion who have actually climbed up in the tree or out on a ledge with a cat to drag dogs down or take a picture with the cat.
Still, every cat is an individual. 99 times out of a hundred, you're not likely to have a problem. That particular cat in the video doesn't appear too wound up. If she wanted to clobber them, it would have been over with. I think she just found a secure position to deal with them if she had to, but wasn't looking for a fight or a meal.
Eyes, ears and tail on a cat will tell you what they are thinking. That one is not scared, but not displaying agression either. This one looks to the left once, ears neutral, tail not telling us anything. Probably curious and amused.
Eyes dilated, ears laid back, tail whipping. That is not a happy cat. Probably pissed off and scared.
Eyes dilated, ears intensely forward, crouched to spring, tail straight out and twitching. You may have a problem ;)
It looks like a female to me. Her looking to the left could be an indication of her checking on cubs. It could also just be contemplating an escape route.
Always be wary of the females! :D
 

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